A very close friend gave me this book a couple of years ago for my birthday. Needless to say, she knows me quite well!

The recipes are old-school and delicious. My absolute favourite is the Simplicity Chocolate Cake because it is just that – simple. I make it into little tiny fairy cakes with a yummy butter frosting on top; I imagine it is just as good with a little icing sugar dusted over it and served alone.

125g butter, melted

2 eggs, lightly whisked

1 cup self-raising flour

1/3 cup cocoa (I always add a teensy bit more because I am greedy)

1 cup caster sugar

1/2 cup milk

1/2 teaspoon vanilla essence (I use extract because I like the smoothness)

(Note: I always get the cold ingredients out to come to room temperature beforehand)

1. Preheat oven to 180 degrees Celcius (356 degrees Fahrenheit). Grease and line the bottom of a cake tin (or put patty cake cases in a tin)

2. Melt the butter (they say over a saucepan – I use the microwave). Sift the flour and cocoa together into a mixing bowl

3. Add the sugar, the eggs, milk, vanilla and the melted butter.

4. Stir to combine with a wooden spoon or an electric mixer; beat hard for 3 minutes, or until the mix lightens in colour

5. Pour mixture into the tin. Bake for 40-50 minutes or until a skewer comes out clean (when I bake my tiny cakes, I cook for around 8-10 minutes. Obviously, just adjust for the size you are creating).

6. Enjoy the heck out of it!

Life is good. We shouldn’t worry about eternal hell-fire. What a boring waste of time and effort.

SMILE

Isn’t it lovely?

What have I been doing?

A lot.

I managed to get my eyebrows waxed on Monday. For the first time in 10 months. Luckily they are fair and don’t grow very quickly.

I got a job in the best cafe in my town. Their coffee is magnificent, and the atmosphere is so relaxed it makes me happy. I missed making coffee, and now I get to do it a few hours a week. I also get free coffee. Life is so good sometimes.

I am totally immersed in the law. It is awesome most of the time. Sometimes I get tired, but always feel a renewed enthusiasm the next day. Except today. I am getting a cold. It is lame, and it sucks away the urge to get out of bed.

But things could be worse.

The election is doing my head in. The advertising is appalling. If I hear ‘stop the boats’ or ‘a sustainable Australia’ one more time I may cry. I wish the Greens could afford more advertising. They make pretty, emotional, useful and moving ads. Bob Brown is a true gentleman. Wow, I wonder who Adele will be voting for?

I am just faffing. Feeling my way into a post after so long away. I am embarrassed about my absence, but it just never felt like the right time, the right tale. Today, I am breaking the drought.

May it stay moist.

Six seed soda bread by Heidi at 101Cookbooks.com

I think I will make it this weekend! Perfect weather for some bread baking here (quite chilly and very rainy, so putting the oven on will warm the house AND help dry our clothes)!

What are you making this weekend?

Adele to partner: Guess what? I love you more than Skittles and Christopher Hitchens and Monteith’s Apple Cider and Anthony Hopkins and jelly beans and high distinctions on assignments and even Gilmore Girls

Partner to Adele: I love you more than Sid Meier, chilli con carne and Futurama xo

I would stumble into the kitchen anticipating the deliciousness coming my way.

Then Mum would say ‘DON’T TOUCH THEM! THEY ARE FOR MY WORKMATES! DON’T_TOUCH_THE_FOOD!

I think I get my nasty streak from her.

Her recipe makes about 10 small yet very fulfilling pikelets. I have them with lemon and sugar on top, but they are just as nice with any topping you can think of – honey, butter or jam are usually the best (add some cream with the jam version for hella goodness)! Apparently some people can afford fresh berries and are just a little bit fancy. If this is you, you might like to make something that looks like this:

If you are like me, you will produce something that looks like this:

You know what – they still taste DAMN good!

1 cup self raising flour

1/4 teaspoon bicarbonate soda

1/2 cup of milk with 1 teaspoon of vinegar in it

2 tablespoons of caster sugar

1 egg

1 dessert spoon of melted butter

1. Heat a frying pan over medium-high heat and add a little butter

2. Mix dry ingredients together. Add the milk, egg and butter. Mix until smooth.

3. Spoon small amounts into pan – you want the pikelets to be about 10cm wide. Cook until small bubbles rise in the batter and the face-down side is brown. Flip, and cook until brown.

4. Eat as many as your heart desires

Burkas and Birkins

I really loved this article

What I am getting at here is that I haven’t done an exam since my final year of high school.

I was 17 turning 18.

That was 9 years ago.

There are a few words running through my discombobulated brain – they would all potentially have me arrested for offensive conduct if an officer of the law (or a conscientious member of the public undertaking a citizens arrest) heard me mutter them.

Hey, I have soaked in and understood some information! Here’s hoping the Criminal law exam asks about offensive conduct, and only about offensive conduct…I am not sure I can remember anything else!

Any ideas for making this less than razor-sharp painful? I certainly plan on eating well and giving the noggin’ something decent to work with nutrient wise. However stress busters are a requirement…and I am not so good at the stress busters. HELP!